Yingluck Shinawatra: Will She Return to Thailand Amidst Political Drama?

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In the heart of London, where the streets echo with the footsteps of thousands of stories, a notable tale is entwined with the charismatic former prime minister of Thailand, Yingluck Shinawatra. At 57, she spends her days amidst the bustling cityscape, a world away from the political scene she once navigated. Last December, a photograph captured her serene presence, reflecting her life in self-imposed exile since fleeing Thailand seven years ago.

Once the helm of Thailand’s leadership, Yingluck can technically return to her homeland. However, as former deputy prime minister Wissanu Krea-ngam articulated with a certain gravitas, her comeback would demand a readiness to face the intricate dance of legal prosecution. This path has already been trodden by her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, emblazoning his return narrative in the annals of Thailand’s political history.

It was on August 22 of the previous year that Thaksin ended his 15-year odyssey of exile. Upon his return, he navigated the legal labyrinth and secured his freedom on parole this February, through the nuanced corridors of the justice system. Now, curiosity swirls around the potential for Yingluck to mirror this journey. Speculation has been kindled by a new regulation concerning out-of-prison detention, seen by many as a bespoke arrangement for the erstwhile premier. However, the Ministry of Justice has been swift to extinguish these flames of conjecture.

The plot thickened when an interview with Thaksin featured in Nikkei Asia last month. In it, he expressed an optimistic view that Yingluck could make her return around the Songkran festival next April, a cultural cornerstone of Thailand’s calendar. According to him, no formidable barricades stand in her way.

Yingluck’s flight in 2017 came on the heels of a Supreme Court verdict—five years in prison for negligence in curbing corrupt rice sales, a scheme shading the nation’s scandal archives with values extending into hundreds of billions of baht. To make amends, she would have to retrace Thaksin’s procedural steps—report to the court, endure a prison stint, and perhaps seek solace in a royal pardon.

Thaksin’s tale offers intriguing insights: although technically incarcerated, his experience was anything but typical. Hospitalized almost immediately, he was housed at the Police General Hospital, with accounts of a room costing 8,500 baht per night teaser recently unveiled in a parliamentary spectacle. He shouldered these opulent expenses himself during his six-month sojourn before being paroled, circumventing the harsher confines of a standard cell under the guise of medical necessity.

Still, Thaksin’s enduring vigor post-release invites skepticism. His health, treated like a state secret, remains undisclosed by corrections officials. Yet, the septuagenarian seems to exude vitality that belies any notion of lingering maladies.

Conversely, Yingluck’s health narrative remains low-key. Wissanu, drawing upon his repository of political wit, remarked upon her apparent absence of severe health woes. ‘If she’s prepared to serve time and pursue a royal pardon, her return bears no impediments,’ he mused. An understated comment with the elegance of Thai diplomacy, leaving political pundits to fill in the gaps.

The stars indeed seem aligned for the Shinawatra saga to welcome a new chapter. Whether disguised under the cherry blossoms of an idyllic London street or the vibrant pulses of Bangkok, Yingluck’s journey beckons as a story in waiting—a footnote teetering on the edge of its page.